Celebrate River Lovers! LOOK what you have done for Earth Day 2009 on the Maumee River! The River thanks you from its bottom!


TRULY, THANK YOU! This work could not be accomplished without YOU!

Earth Day 2009 we had 194 signatures for participation to assist our plantings and garbage removal!

YOU planted 3 acres worth of native riparian “Midwestern Prairie Grass Erosion Control Mix” underneath 4,000 sq ft. of erosion control mats and other barren areas to reduce erosion/sedimentation. Common names of the mix contains Big Bluestern, Canada Wild Rye, Virginia Wild Rye, Indian Grass & Switchgrass that are intended in slope areas where rapid soil stabilization is required and where a native grass community is desired.


YOU planted over 200 native plant plugs (previously started seedlings)! These retain deep tap roots that hold them in place when the area floods. (after 5 years of growth) ALL these hearty plants are able to live through drought or flood due to their deep tap roots and are ideal for our riverbanks…it is even improving the areas plant diversity! Common name for the plant plugs; Cup Plant, Brown Eyed Susan, Palm Sedge, Crested Sedge.




YOU planted 200 River Birch, 80 Burr Oak, 20 Pin Oak, 20 Red Maple and 20 Swamp Oak


YOU planted 25 Persimmon Trees, 25 Paw Paw Trees (Indiana Banana) – These are native fruit trees that are disappearing from our riverbanks. We want to reintroduce these trees to the area and these saplings will be ready to bear fruit in 10 years!

These particular fruit trees are disappearing for 3 reasons;
#1 They are understory trees and need wet/shady conditions to thrive.

#2 Most of the forested corridors along the riverbanks in Allen County have been removed, which would provide the canopy for these trees to grow.

#3. Rip Rap (large stones placed on both sides of the river and all foliage removed) to help with flooding issues downtown, but this causes the river water to run very fast downstream, pulling out all foliage on the stream banks because of the flashiness (water rising and receding very quickly.)

TOTALING 390 TREES PLANTED at Save Maumee’s Earth Day 2009!
Interesting things we PULLED OUT or PUT IN: Award Winners

Largest Trash– A thick piece of foam/Styrofoam/floating device? WE don’t even know what it was! But it measured about 7ft tall by 4ft wide by 2 ft. thick!!! It was sitting among some 3 year old Indian Grasses that you planted previously along the riverbank! IT WAS SO BIG and WATERLOGGED that we needed all these people!

- Found by Lydia Savitz & Jason LaMont

- Pulled Out by 5 people the guy in the white shirt WHAT IS YOUR NAME!

- Of course Save Maumee’s Own helped pull it out– Ryan Bailey, Davis King.


Most Contaminated Trash– A television with the potential to house Mercury, PCB’s and other environmental problems. Pulled out by Little Brother Radio Show on WBOI – Rich Lee.


Funniest Trash– A plastic life sized Owl! By Jerry Barker from Top Notch Tree Service.


Most potential to contain West Nile – 6 tires – One of which was a 6 ft. tractor tire!


Most trees planted Winner: Bruce Allen, who represented the Maumee River in Washington D.C. this year thanks to Healing-Our-Waters!


Most Plant Plugs Planted Winner: Ellen Ley from Garden Angels.


Most interesting Dead Thing – A Little Brown Bat was found by Waylon Fisher – bat expert Bob Walton said that it looks as if he starved to death from being born too early in the season.


Most Erosion Control Mats Secured Winner(s): Celia Garza, Andy Cecava, Sharon Schorey, Dylan Easterday, and the guy with the corncob pipe, that showed up and worked so hard, for so long – THANKS!


NOW THAT is how a rain OR shine event happens! It was a blessing because it soaked all the plantings of the day and they are doing GREAT – Trees are budding, grasses are sprouting!


Total Trash Removed = 2 tons of garbage, filling a 30 cubic yard container.



Total Miles of northern streambank cleansed – 1.5 miles - including “The Ravine” self-dug bike trail which is considered one of the top 10 self-dug bike trails in the USA.




Most FUN/Educational
Soaring Hawk brought a Short Eared Owl & Red Tailed Hawk and spoke about their habitat on the riverbanks – What beautiful animals!


Gene Faron, Biologist – took Maumee River samples to view under a microscope and discussed life present in the water!


Jain Young – Herb Specialist took volunteers on an “Edible Herb Walk” to show what you are missing on your plate at home – native home grown food grown right here!


Save Maumee’s John Scherer hung a bat-box to attract bats that are able to eat 1,000 mosquitoes per bat per night!


Enviroscape that demonstrates what a watershed IS and how YOU effect it and face-painting are always both a hit!


Live Entertainment in the late afternoon (due to weather) by Dave P. & Exterminate All Rational Thought


Next Save Maumee Event

Canoe Clean-Up, Can YOU Clean-Up – Saturday September 12th – NOON-5pm at Fort Wayne Outfitters & Bike Depot on Cass St.

We pass out free canoe rental for participants for the day with a photo I.D.! It will be too late in the season for plantings…but never too late in the season for garbage removal and free paddling!


We will also be represented at:

Sol-Fest THIS WEEKEND May 2nd & 3rd at Fox Island – Celebrating the outdoors with food, music & sun.

Summerfest 5, 6 & 7th at Headwaters Park - A 3 day music festival and celebration of local culture - Celebrity flag football game - skate-off - freebees
Contact ftwsummerfest@gmail.com


I want you to know what goes into the work behind the scenes to make an event this large and this FUN to happen!




Special THANK YOU from Save Maumee to the following people who helped bring all of us together this year! Our events are FREE but ALL donations go to projects like this one! Give till it hurts – OUCH!----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forester Tom Crow & Allen County Soil & Water Conservation District – donated ALL the trees except the fruit trees!

Soaring Hawk Raptor Rehab – Short-Eared Owl, Red-Tailed Hawk demo. Bob Walton and his assistant spoke about these local raptors for 45 minutes!
Home Depot – 40 Shovels, 15 Rakes, 10 Trash-grabbers & 2 post hole diggers

Top Notch Tree Service (Kenny& Becki) – drinks & tree consultation & debris removal
Heartland Restoration /Earth Source, Huntertown - 2 acres worth of “Midwestern Prairie Grass Mix” and consultation on our area-of-interest

Partnership for Water Quality – Matt Jones spoke on the History of the Maumee.
Local ACE’s Hardware all over town & Lowes gave us 39 litter-grabbers

City of Fort Wayne – Waived our Assembly Permit Fee for the first time!
Old Crown Coffee on N. Anthony (Mike & Jen) – Coffee

Health Food Shoppe on N. Anthony (Jan) – All natural potato chips and breakfast bars to healthily recharge our inner batteries

Camp Potowatamie - 20X15 tent

Citizens Action Coalition - Printed Material, long-distance calls, endless paper, sent Abby Master Naturalist Program & large cash donation

Save Maumee Grassroots Org - Erosion Control Mats / Fruit Trees / T-Shirts
Wal-Mart Foundation gave a $1,500 cash donation that bought the seed/plugs

Bike Depot & USA Air Force – together donated 180 REUSABLE water bottles
Hall’s Triangle Park - gloves, 5 gallon buckets

Brad Frost & Associates - Technical Consultation – worm farm, sent Abby to Watershed Leadership Academy, Purdue W. Lafayette Extension Office

American Rivers - Cool Garbage Bags

Heartland Communities Inc. 501 ©(3) - Gracious Fiscal Sponsorship for tax deductible contributions

City Utilities Solid Waste Dept- 30 yard dumpster

Allen County Public Library Downtown Branch will produce the Earth Day 2009 Show-

Dave P., Exterminate All Rational Thought – Live show, ended up being later in the day due to weather!
I CAN – Trash Grabbers & rain barrel demo
Davis King – largest supporter of Save Maumee, Abby’s fiancé!
Greg Konger – for a whole year’s worth of financial support
Gene Faron - Microscope & Biological Evaluation & Consultation Grassroots Green - donated 200 collector editions of Green Living Guide-NE IndianaIndiana Computer Service – Web & Computer expert consulting provided by www.indianacomputerservice.com
Lydia Savitz - Port-A-Jon donation – …so people don’t pee 500 ft. from water!
Grace Strahm has put Save Maumee on the web map! Twitter, MySpace, A Greener Indiana, Facebook – BE OUR FRIEND!
We send out approximately 5 e-mails per year…don’t worry NO SPAM!
Melanie McKinnley – has begun writing grants for us – She also installs rainbarrels for your home or business? I CAN Organization: Call Melanie – 260-422-9818
Ryan Bailey for doing whatever the river asks of him – thanks bro!
Marty Lusher went out canvassing for volunteers for Earth Day & ran the video camera
Red Lobster for donating a used plastic advertisement and summitcitynoise.com painted our “Save Maumee River Clean-Up Tapestry”!

Project United Alliance is an organization that provides an alternative sentencing plan for youth involved with Juvenile Justice and a self sufficiency alternative for adolescents transitioning from foster care into Independent Living. Save Maumee is partnering with them to create a greenhouse that will be ran by “at-risk” volunteers that grow riverbank plants and install them… along with growing herbs and food!



Neighborhood friends Beverly Hume, Craig Thorn, Michelle Ferguson, Jennifer Fletcher, Mary Brady & Derek Dailey kicked down cash!



…AND ALL OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO HELP EVERYDAY AS VOLUNTEERS - THANKS and if we forgot to include you DOUBLE THANK YOU! The heart of grassroots belongs to people who donate time or supplies or BOTH!



Update of current conditions: 4/29/09



Now the seedlings are coming up and the trees are budding even after being under water for 2 days (April 21 & 22nd) The techniques are working! All of us should feel very successful! These are the suggestions by the experts! THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN! Please continue to support us by attending!




PBS, FRONTLINE “Poisoned Waters”– an extremely informative program to help you understand non-point source effects that face watersheds today in the USA.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/poisonedwaters/

Victories for OUR Rivers in 08/09:
•Because of YOU Save Maumee has successfully raised enough money for Earth Day 2009 to plant 390 trees, 3 acres worth of native DNR approved riparian seed, 4,500 ft. of erosion control mats and 200 plant plugs (previously started plants) to be installed on OUR riverbanks!
•Consultants have been asked the best streambank management practices….this is it! We have raised over $3,000 for today’s erosion control techniques in in-kind and cash donations for this hypothesis driven riparian project! We could not do this without our volunteer’s back muscles.
•Almost 200 volunteers on Earth Day 2008 last April & 60 volunteers at the Canoe Clean-Up, Can YOU Clean Up during the rainy Sept. event! Namaste! Translates: I respect the divinity within you that is also within me…or…The light within me honors the light within you! Truly, thank you!
•Abby was nominated for True Grassroots Leader in Indiana for a $10,000 grant - cross fingers
•Got the word out in 2008 about our rivers at Sol-Fest, Frieman Family Fun Nights, Maumee Music Fest, Boy & Girl Scout Groups, St. Jude School, Little Brother Radio & speaking to anyone who will listen.
•Since beginning our first Official Earth Day in 2006 WE have; removed 7 tons of garbage, planted over 690 trees, 600 lbs of DNR approved native riparian seed, and raised awareness SUCCESSFULLY
•Abigail will receive certificates for “Watershed Coordinator” & “Master Naturalist” in June, which will be used to put together an Upper-Maumee Watershed Management Plan for IndianaThis is part of a larger plan of partnering with Downtown Improvement District and Project United Alliance. This partnership will create a program to leverage volunteer hours of “at-risk” youth and community service through a greenhouse that will grow & plant our riverbank foliage!
•Our 3 Rivers were represented in Washington DC for Clean Water Week; sponsored by Healing-Our-Waters, Representing Save Maumee – THANK YOU Bruce Allen!
• Army Core of Engineers & National Resource Conservation Service has requested information about the Upper-Maumee River Basin for the Western Lake Erie Basin evaluation. Save Maumee sent ACE a package of information that weighed 13 ounces…100 papers or so to inform them of local conditions and sent NRCS all the past 6 months of research! The Maumee’s outlet is in Lake Erie’s western basin. Maumee River is also the largest and longest contributing stream to The Great Lakes in the USA. The Maumee outlets into Lake Erie’s Western Basin.
•In the last year we have filed 6 complaints – not bragging here, the laws are in place to protect YOU and your family and our waterways for the future.
CALL me if you cannot get anywhere with another government agency – Abby (260) 417-2500
•Save Maumee will be in the independent film, “Rivers” by Kristine Taylor
•Abigail Frost participated in Ft. Wayne’s Rain Garden Program & Green Business Program – both have great ideas to engage your home in efficient practices and real sustainablility!
•Abigail spoke at GreenFest put on by Waynedale Green Alliance after Mayor Tom Henry…he listened to every word and extended an invitation to his office! Thank You Mayor!


Save Maumee Grassroots Organization was formed to create awareness about the conditions of the Three Rivers in Fort Wayne, IN, while facilitation the ecosystem restoration projects. Revitalizing the Upper-Maumee Watershed will protect and restore the environment, while improving the economic, aesthetic and recreational value. We are organizing projects that place a high priority on monitoring, developing, protecting and restoring rivers with a positive environmental impact. Ultimately, we want to repair and improve the St. Joe, St. Mary (upstream), and the Maumee Rivers (and downstream) to help reverse years of pollution. This will be accomplished through an Upper-Maumee Watershed Management Plan for the State of Indiana.


Indiana needs an Upper-Maumee Watershed Management Plan for our State! The Maumee is considered a low priority stream because it crosses political boundaries; City of Ft. Wayne, Allen County and State of Indiana…downstream seems to be somebody else’s problem? Historically it has been surrounded by industry, landfills, CSO’s, brownfields and a Super-Fund Site. We are asking for people who have a skill that are interested in participating in a steering committee group to address 11 situations with proposed solutions. Biologist, teacher, lawyer, accountant, writers, scientists, surveyor, doctor, zoning experts or dedicated citizens NEED to apply! Abby – 417-2500

I did a map for areas of concern...you can see my map on google map here and would love your feedback/comments or your pictures :http://tinyurl.com/c3fm9v

www.savemaumee.org - website

savemaumee@yahoo.com - email

www.myspace.com/savemaumee - MySpace Save Maumee

Twitter user name: savemaumee

A Greener Indiana http://www.agreenerindiana.com/profile/AbigailFrost

Facebook: Abigail Frost Save Maumee



Whatever you like to use as your online activism (an oxymoron)…we are there!


Please help us to speak for your rivers…for your rivers have no voice


Sincerely,



Abigail Frost

Save Maumee Grassroots Organization Founder

(260) 417-2500


I will send you a quickie email when I update the website with current pictures & information for 2009!